13 miles

this morning i got out and did 13 miles in about an hour and 35 minutes. 7:18 pace. not too shabby. i've had some tightness/soreness in my left hip since november, but other than that, the run was easy and pleasant.

i obviously had quite a bit to think about on my run... so many people out there that i'd love to have a face to face conversation with right now. i'd never checked out that website until last night and, while i'd heard it was pretty notorious for nasty comment threads, i had no idea things were taken that far. i don't believe that peoples' thoughts (no matter how extreme, negative, and/or untrue they are) should be censored, but i also don't believe that the website should be boasting about a "world famous message board" when that is the content. sure it's entertaining when it's not you that's getting ripped apart by strangers, but it's also shameful and disrespectful to the sport. in my opinion, at least.

anyway. i'm debating whether or not to race a 5k this weekend. it's not a distance i'm particularly fond of but i think racing these shorter deals as much as possible is a good way to gain speed and get my head back into the game. i did this particular race last year in the middle of a snow storm - it was a little rough! i think we're supposed to have better weather for it this weekend. oh. just kidding i guess - i just checked and it's supposed to be snowing again. well, we'll see. i've run in worse conditions so flurries wouldn't be too traumatic. and i'd love to get a second win for the year.

i've decided that one of my goals for 2011 is to place in the top three in all the races i do. in 2010 i did 20 races and was in the top 3 in 15 of them, so it's not a completely unrealistic thought. that'll mean really putting the hurt on in a few of them, but, i think if i run smart i can do it.